A Night of a Mortal Fate

Shargazi was more nervous than she had ever been in her entire life. Mere days before this, she was a merchant woman within the city of Tamay, working her days away under her father Hamil. Yet rumors stirred within the courts of the caliph that he began to kill his queens. For what reason, nobody knew. Yet every day, he married and killed his wife. He had run out of concubines to kill, and now made decree that every young woman in the city come to his court to be his newest wife. Many women had fled the city, but Shargazi was not so lucky, being taken by the royal guards and dragged into the court of Caliph Jezen.   And today was the day for Shargazi to start her wedding. She stood before a mirror, dressed in a white dress, dreading her fate. For before midnight, it was likely the mad Jezen would kill her, as he did with all his other queens. Her father came to her, giving his daughter a kiss as he handed her her flowers.   "I am being bound in marriage to death," Shargazi told her father.   Hamil shook his head. "I could not do much to help you, Shargazi my dear. If I fought the king's decree, we'd both die."   "What are we going to do?" Shargazi asked. "Without me, you will have to work alone. And you are well in your years."   "I will find hired hands, I suppose," Hamil says. "But this does not need to be the end, Shargazi. You are a clever girl. Make sure the caliph stays his hand."   "How?" Shargazi asks.   "Distract him," Hamil says. "Distract him the best way you know how to. Then, when you have him hooked, show the godless man love and compassion. Then, perhaps, he will learn to stop being so bitter and cruel."   The guards then came into the room, ensuring that Hamil left his daughter's side, and soon Shargazi was standing before a podium. With the High Priest of Bahamut announcing man and wife through a Ceremony spell, Shargazi looked into the eyes of the mad caliph, Jezen, who seemed colder than ice. A great fear came over herself. When the ceremony was over, Jezen took the hands of Shargazi and sent her to a bedroom. He then spoke to her quietly and coldly.   "You will have these hours to reminisce, but when midnight comes, I assure you that will be your end." Then the caliph shut the door on her. Shargazi's eyes welled with tears, as she feared for her life. She began to believe her life was going to be stolen from her unfairly. Stolen? She began to think. She remembered a tale, from decades ago, when thieves had control over parts of the lands of Tamay. Yes, a story of a league of thieves that desired to steal a great artifact.   "A way into anyone's heart is with stories," Shargazi told herself. "I shall tell him a story for a thousand nights! If only to delay my inevitable end, and perhaps turn his cold heart."   As the sun set came, Jezen returned to his bride. He had a dagger in his hand, overlooking it as Shargazi stood at the windowsill. "I have asked this of all my queens, and so I shall ask you: why are you, a woman, deserving of life?"   Shargazi was pale as she turned toward Jezen. "Why are you deserving to take it? Wouldn't that make you a thief?"   "A thief?" Jazan asked. "No, it makes me an executioner. And I am deserving because I am a king."   "There is no difference," Shargazi. "And a king cannot be a thief, because a thief does not live in law as you do. So what are you, a king or a thief?"   "I am the king!" Jezen said, gripping his dagger. "You are like the others, believing me to be a merciless cutthroat, when all the others have wronged me! You women are all liars and gossipers, and worthy of death."   Shargazi then lowered her head. "I ask you, for my sake, give me one night to prove you wrong."   "One night?" Jezen scoffed. "You expect me to change my mind over a single night?"   "If you are willing to listen, yes," Shargazi replied. "I will tell you a story about thieves, about ancient kings, and the quest for a meaning behind life and death. Perhaps near it's end, you shall change your mind."   Jezen lowered his dagger, placing it on a cabinet next to him. "Very well, woman. I shall give you this one chance, to prove I am a just and merciful king. But if you slight me, I shall certainly see an end to your days."   Shargazi allowed Jezen onto his bed, and began her tale, still dressed in her wedding gown. She opened up the tale to a few thousand years ago, speaking of the days of the Tamayan Pharoahs and their power over the lands of Tam. Her tale throughout the night went something like this:   "There was once a great pharaoh over this city of Tamay, and his name was Kana-Kamose. He battled the kingdoms of the Yuan-Ti, the Pungians, and the Madeci, and grew in power and wealth. Yet he was also a vile man, who mistreated his Yuan-Ti slave-bride, Rashta, and their son Kana-Ra. At the height of Kana-Kamose's power, he was poisoned by his son Kana-Ra. Kana-Ra thus became the Pharoah of the Tam-Ay, and he enslaved many of his neighbors."   "Kana-Ra became a great murderer, and thief, and adulterer, which horrified the peoples of Tam. And he sought even more power and vengeance, simply because he believed he had the right as the Pharaoh. Eventually he desecrated the temple of Amagus to strip it of it's riches and make it a temple in his visage, and with that, the priests of Amagus turned against him. Kana-Ra was mummified alive, and buried into a tomb somewhere within the desert valleys of Tamay. He was not buried a king; he was buried as a thief, a murderer, and an adulterer!"   "For three thousand years, the cursed Kana-Ra remained in his tomb, undead and aware of his punishment as he remained trapped in his cursed tomb with all his treasures and slave-soldiers buried alongside him. Yet his treasure became a subject of legend, and one day, a thief stumbled upon this tomb..."   "What happens next?" Jezen asked.   "Unfortunately, my night is over," Shargazi mentioned.   Behold, through the window, Jezen saw the sun rising. He looked to Shargazi. At first his face came to anger, and yet he could not come to take his dagger. He simply grasped her arm and asked, "You must tell me what happens with that thief."   "Tonight I shall tell you," Shargazi replied. "I promise."